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The NFL season is here, and the Detroit Lions open against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. Free Press sports writer Marlowe Alter dissects both rosters, position-by-position, to determine which team has the edge ... Douglas DeFelice, USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK.
Lions: Matthew Stafford.
Jets: Sam Darnold.
Analysis: Stafford is one of the game's better QBs, somewhere in the 8-12 range. He can make all the throws and is underrated with his ability to extend plays. He has been trustworthy late in games, but has yet to end the franchise's playoff drought (1991 is the only win since '57). Darnold, the No. 3 overall pick, impressed enough for the team to trade Teddy Bridgewater and make Darnold the starter. He would become the youngest QB since 1970 to start Week 1.
Edge: Lions, heavily. Vincent Carchietta, USA TODAY Sports

RUNNING BACKS.
Lions: LeGarrette Blount, Kerryon Johnson, Theo Riddick.
Jets: Isaiah Crowell, Bilal Powell.
Analysis: Blount was better than anticipated for the Eagles last season, and brings a winning pedigree with his three Super Bowl rings. Johnson, the physical second-round pick, brings some hype after a solid preseason. He could become the lead back as the season progresses. Riddick is a talented receiver. Crowell, added from the Browns, is fine, and Powell is efficient mostly as a third-down back.
Edge: Lions, slightly. Douglas DeFelice, USA TODAY Sports

OFFENSIVE LINE.
Lions: Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow, T.J. Lang, Rick Wagner.
Jets: Kelvin Beachum, Spencer Long.
Analysis: The Lions have talent and four big names, a nice mix of youth and veterans, but they'll need to gel quickly after a poor preseason showing. T.J. Lang's health is seemingly always in question. With a good showing, this unit could unlock the Lions as a top offense. The Jets had one of the worst lines last season, and though they may be slightly improved at center, their ceiling is far lower than the Lions.
Edge: Lions, moderately. Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press

DEFENSIVE LINE.
Lions: Ziggy Ansah.
Jets: Leonard Williams.
Analysis: Neither team brings a consistent pass rush, and the Lions were 28th in DVOA against the run last year. The interior remains a huge question mark. Ansah has been banged up for two straight years, but the Lions need him to pick up where he left off last season, when he recorded six sacks in the final two games. Williams, a 2016 Pro Bowler at 22 years old, had 46 pressures compared to Ansah's 38 last year, according to Pro Football Focus, but the Jets otherwise lack a force in pass rush.
Edge: Even. Julie Jacobson, AP

LINEBACKERS.
Lions: Jarrad Davis, Christian Jones.
Jets: Darron Lee, Avery Williamson.
Analysis: The Lions have more new faces here than anywhere else, with the additions of the experienced Jones and Devon Kennard among others. Davis struggles in coverage, so it'll be interesting to see how much he plays this year, especially on passing downs. Williamson comes over from the Titans to form a good duo with Lee, the former Ohio State standout.
Edge: Jets, moderately. Ron Schwane, AP

SECONDARY.
Lions: CB Darius Slay, S Glover Quin.
Jets: CB Trumaine Johnson, S Jamal Adams.
Analysis: Slay was finally recognized as one of the game's best corners, earning First-Team All-Pro with eight interceptions. Quin is solid, using his eyes and experience to offset his lack of speed at 32 years old. Johnson comes over from the Rams to give the Jets a solid top corner, and Adams had a nice rookie season.
Edge: Lions, slightly. Rey Del Rio, Getty Images

COACHING.
Lions: Matt Patricia.
Jets: Todd Bowles.
Analysis: Patricia makes his anticipated debut as head coach after spending the past six seasons as the Patriots' defensive coordinator. Bowles led the Jets to a 10-6 record in his first season, but the team has been rebuilding the past two seasons, and finally has a young QB to build around.
Edge: Jets, slightly. Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images

“I’m pretty fired up every day,” Patricia said. “I mean, you guys, sometimes I come in here and you guys suck the life out of me, but other than that, I’m pretty good because you guys aren’t really excited when I walk in here. I’m not going to let you guys do that to me today ‘cause we’re going out there and we’re getting ready to go win the best that we can.”

If you listen to audio of Patricia’s answer, I’m the one laughing hardest.

Here’s the deal: Patricia regularly banters with reporters for them having all the vigor of a bored snail when he walks into the media room for his news conferences. We respond by blinking, then turning on our recorders.

“You guys are fired up, I can tell already,” Patricia said as he stepped onto the podium Wednesday. “Every day, it’s unbelievable.”

Yep. Every day, coach.

I almost laughed aloud when Patricia said this. There’s a naïve charm to Patricia’s enthusiastic expectation. I’m not sure where he got it from or exactly what he expects from a bunch of overworked, underpaid, middle-aged sports reporters.

This is all Bill Belichick’s fault. The New England Patriots coach rarely allowed his coordinators to speak with reporters in person. Instead, they held their weekly news conference via conference call. That means Patricia wasn’t in front of a live (OK, lifeless) audience very often.

If Patricia had gotten more face time with Patriots reporters, he would have learned reporters tend to approach daily news conferences with all the zeal of, well, Belichick conducting his news conferences.

It’s actually endearing that Patricia thinks reporters — and maybe anyone who’s lucky enough to do work that involves the NFL — should be more enthusiastic about their jobs.

The truth is reporters are enthusiastic about their jobs. But we’re enthusiastic in ways Patricia and most coaches never see. We’re enthusiastic about pursuing story lines and tracking down interview subjects and texting with sources and formulating questions for news conferences and — to be completely honest — flight and hotel upgrades.

Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia watches during the first half of the team's NFL preseason football game against the Oakland Raiders on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018.(Photo: D. Ross Cameron, AP)

The excitement in journalism comes from the sausage-making process that would bore most people who aren’t in the profession.

So here’s some free advice to Patricia and anyone who aspires to be a high-profile coach: Do an internship at a newspaper. I am dead serious.

If coaches really believe what they often espouse — trying to get better every day — how about getting better at a significant part of your job most coaches have almost no understanding of?

During my time covering the Lions, the only coach who came closest to understanding reporters’ jobs was Jim Schwartz, who once spent about two hours meeting with Detroit reporters to discuss the parameters of our working relationship. Schwartz had his disagreements with Detroit reporters, but he never seemed confused about how or why we were doing our jobs.

If Patricia doesn’t have any interest in pursuing a glamorous newspaper internship, I would suggest he invite reporters to dinner. We’ll even meet him near his off-season home. And if there happens to be a flight and hotel upgrade, all the better.

Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.